The new "gastro" district of Stamford surely is Harbor Point with what seems to be a veritable explosion of new eateries. Handling the Asian fare in the neighborhood is Asian Bistro, a beautiful restaurant tucked into a storefront opposite Fairway Market. It has become oddly common now to lump together all sorts of Asian cuisines under a single roof, usually with uneven results. Asian Bistro, with some real talent in the kitchen, at the sushi bar and the hibachi grill, manages the meld better than most, with some standouts in each of the huge menu categories.

The rather ordinary exterior quickly gives rise to a wow factor upon entering. In warm weather the entrance becomes a tropical open-air tiki bar with all sorts of intriguing cocktails to sip while nibbling on a little sushi (super fresh and sparkling), a little heap of rock shrimp tempura (light and crisp with a spicy yuzu dipping sauce) or a delicate beef negimaki (perfectly cooked, thinly sliced filet wrapped around verdant asparagus).

If you can pass up this attractive dining area, go inside and settle in with comfortable seating at the bar, in booths or at table. Lighting and ambiance here is perfectly flattering as is the service that welcomes with a truly earnest smile and greeting. This excellent service continues throughout, with the staff truly delighting in offering advice.

Still, even with advice, the menu is huge and beautiful, but almost overwhelming. We sampled from each category and found some winners in each.

Sushi and sashimi are uniformly fresh and prettily presented. More than a few of the signature rolls, including the Paradise roll, an otherwise tasty combo of lobster salad, shrimp tempura and banana tempura, is turned almost into dessert with a sweet yuzu orange sauce coating each piece. Read the fine print and stay with sauce-less options, such as a Manhattan roll with tuna, salmon, yellowtail and avocado.

Tempura starters are perfectly cooked, though the crab Rangoon has way more cream cheese than crab and also suffers from an overly sweet sauce. A tempura sampler of veggies and shrimp is also crisply satisfying. Other appealing nibblers are light chicken and hoisin lettuce wraps or light tuna wasabi dumplings.

While it would be tempting and a fine idea to make a whole meal on Asian nibblers, many main courses are more than worthy. We especially liked the Thai classic from a highly credible pad Thai and a delicate Thai basil with chicken, beef or seafood. Especially notable from the Chinese part of the menu is richly glazed and aromatic crispy orange beef and chicken with heady garlic sauce. Hibachi surf and turf or grilled shrimp and scallops are well cooked and satisfying though not quite as memorable as some of the other classics.

Desserts here are definitely Western and high quality bakery sourced, but tempura ice cream is "homemade." While the concept of cold ice cream coated in crunchy hot tempura batter has great appeal, it almost never turns out well -- batter too thick and not crisp enough. Here, however, a really great chocolate sauce helps a lot.

Asian Bistro is a fine addition to the amazing amalgam of eateries that is brightening Harbor Point.